Grassroots Curriculum: Oral History & Forest Pedagogy

In the Research Unit “Grassroots Curriculum: Oral History & Forest Pedagogy”, we consider oral history research and forest schools as important grassroots curriculum and pedagogy. Through such grassroots curriculum and pedagogy, we delve into the core principles of democracy, equity, and social justice. We aim to uncover, create, and examine sustainable and democratic practices in education by employing oral history and forest pedagogy as innovative approaches.

Central to our work is the cultivation of experiences that foster interaction and continuity, facilitating inquiry learning and exploration for children, teachers, parents, and the society.

Through oral history, we glean insights from lived experiences, enabling us to understand historical eras from diverse perspectives.

Additionally, through forest school and forest pedagogy, we are dedicated to nurturing the holistic development of young children through experiential and nature-based learning, guided by developmentally appropriate practices, empowering them to become active participants in society and advocates for inclusive futures. By reimagining curriculum theories and emphasizing the importance of pedagogy, we strive to advance democracy, equity, and justice.

Furthermore, we conduct oral history research with the aim of producing learning materials and curriculum, while also seeking to understand how others' experiences become important learning for all. Additionally, we seek to understand and expand our knowledge about forest schools and their connection to important learning and development for children.

Our commitment to grassroots efforts stems from our belief that such initiatives empower individuals to effect positive change in society.

The main research interests and activities of the members of the lab are related to:

Curriculum theories, curriculum making, teaching, learning, pedagogy, alternative pedagogies, democratic school practices, education, adult education, teacher education, experiential learning, forest school, developmentally appropriate practices, oral history and education, school improvement, society improvement, experiences of learners, currere, inside of school and outside of school experiences, narrative inquiry, sustainability, learning environments, experiential learning, inquiry learning.

Research Projects Experience

Oral history is a technique for generating, collecting, and preserving original, historically interesting information, primary source material, from personal recollections through planned recorded interviews. This method of interviewing is used to preserve the voices, memories, and perspectives of people in history. We focus on the public sharing of people’s memories and reflections on experiences, creating an inclusive and diverse history of everyday life experiences that are part of important history and history in the making. This work builds on previous work done in the field. Dr. Christodoulou conceptualised and founded such projects as the Cyprus Oral History and Living Memory Project (COHP) funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, Central Savannah River Area Oral History Project (CSRA-EdOHiP) funded by Augusta University’s (Georgia, USA) Scholarship Grants Program, KC-MEM Key Competences and Historical Training funded by the European Commission, and engaged into networks such as Memoro and Europeana. She has also worked with Doctoral and Master’s students for their thesis that employed oral history methodology, and with school students for the implementation of oral history in classrooms, and won first prizes in student research competitions with the teams that she guided. The initial oral history group was formed in 2009. This Research Unit’s group members are interested in conducting research in the area of life-histories, testimonies, narrative inquiry, describing historical periods or a person’s life, personal experiences as narrated by everyday life people, and documented through the sharing of their own living memories, narratives, personal stories, and life experiences, in any sector of life. Oral history and collecting personal testimonies can be an intersection of many disciplines, and the stories told about a multitude of life experiences, interactions, acquaintances in all life sectors form our knowledge that is worth thinking about, analysing, sharing, interacting with, and learning from.

Our Forest School group has been existing since 2017, and since 2021 we are a fulltime experiential, outdoors, daily, sustainable school, and resource and research center. We design, develop, and offer experiences and resources to young children, kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education school students, schoolteachers, university students in various disciplines who are interested in sustainability, pedagogy, developmentally appropriate practices, and forest pedagogics, and individuals and others who embrace forest pedagogy. We do so through various programs that we design and offer. Through our collaborations with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (MESY), the Cyprus Human Resource Development Authority (CHRDA) and the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (CPI), we offer approved and subsidized professional development and training programs for teachers and others. We also collaborate with various NGOs, public and private stakeholders, and enterprises within their social responsibility in order to offer programs to the wider public. Further, we conduct research activities funded through Erasmus+ projects or other external and internal funding sources. Networking, building connections and collaborations at country, European, and international level, and shaping future outdoor learning ambassadors are also part of our mission.

This Research Unit includes our Forest School teachers, pedagogues, researchers, collaborators, and volunteers. Projects include, but are not limited to, those funded by ERASMUS+ including Let’s Get Outside Now: Be, Learn, Grow Outdoors (GrowLearnOut – GLOW), Protection and well treatment in non-formal education (TRATU-ON), and PsychosociAl inTerventions with youTh in EmeRgency situatioNs (PATTERNs).

New project proposals have been submitted for funding through ERASMUS+ such as OUTDOOR and NatureDiverse. Additionally, small scale projects are funded by various organizations in order for our team to organize and promote forest school sessions for children around Cyprus. Such collaborations include our annual participation in LIDL Wellness Camp organized by LIDL; “Mountain Day” organized by Terra Cypria; the DARWIN PLUS ‘Habitat Restoration & Sustainable Use in the Akrotiri and Kavo Pyla areas’ project with BirdLife Cyprus (coordinator), TerraCypria, British Bases Environment Department and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; Summer Forest School at Troodos with the Social Support Network of Mountain Areas of Cyprus; AfroBanana which is the oldest contemporary and well-known festival in Cyprus. We also have collaborations and organize school visits for public and private schools for implementing part of their K-12 curriculum through our programs and at our Forest School space. We also receive subsidization from CHRDA, CPI, MESY to offer forest pedagogue training sessions. Additionally, we collaborate with organizations internationally that provide forest school and outdoor pedagogue trainings, including Inside Out Nature Denmark.

The work conducted is shared through presentations at academic conferences including the American Educational Research Association and the European Educational Research Association, and publications in peer-reviewed academic journals.